MK Dons chairman Pete Winkelman has told Sky Sports News HQ that he wouldn’t be surprised if Tottenham Hotspur-bound Dele Alli is a regular starter at White Hart Lane this time next season.

Alli, 18, sealed a £5 million move to Spurs before the transfer deadline on a deal until 2020, before returning to MK Dons on loan for the remainder of the campaign.

The teenage midfielder has been in fantastic form in League One this season, recording 12 goals in 27 league appearances to help fire his hometown club up to second in the table.

His impressive performances had attracted the interest of both Newcastle United and Aston Villa in recent weeks, per the Daily Mail, but Spurs edged ahead of their Premier League rivals during the closing stages of the transfer window to seal his signature.

Now set to arrive in north London in the summer, Winkelman believes Mauricio Pochettino is the perfect manager to help the England Under-19 international unlock his full potential, and believes it won’t be long before he establishes himself in the Argentine manager’s side.

“He’s only 18 and he runs games,” he said on Wednesday afternoon. “He’s a fantastic talent. He has absolutely everything.

“The other thing is he has such great ambitions, while having his feet firmly on the floor. He had to say he wanted to come back to MK Dons and finish what he started.

“At 18, with all the riches of the Premier League on offer to him, that shows you the quality of boy, and gives me even more confidence that when he gets to Tottenham in the summer he could go straight into the first-team squad.

Freddie Shires

Freddie is a freelance sports writer, having recently completed an MA in Sports Journalism at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham. With an especially keen interest in all things American sports-related, he has written extensively about the NFL, MLS and the U.S. national team for various sites.